Not What Expected
by Saeger
Summary: AU, but I'm trying to keep the chars believable. It's a work in progress- so sorry about the shortness and not seeming to go anywhere. Please R&R! I'll even take flames now... if you have nothing better to do.
1. Chance Meeting Over IceCream

A/N: Okay, I don't own DBZ, or any of it's characters... except maybe in my dreams. I DO own Tringa, though anybody willing to steal her would have to be DESPERATE. Aight? Oh, and this is my first attempt at fan-fiction by myself. Please don't flame it- if you wanna flame me, wait till I get my second chapter up first, please. Then I don't care. Constructive criticism VERY welcome. And compliments are okay, too... if you're willing to give 'em. Anyway, I'm rambling. Here's the story- or its beginning, anyway. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
She was only twelve years old. At least, that's what the others had said... nobody knew for sure. All she knew was that she wasn't like any of the other kids. They didn't understand her- even after the first week. So, she tried to stay away from them. Live on her own- a sort of street urchin.  
She had one friend- a boy a little older than her, who was almost the same way. Only he actually remembered his parents, his old home, his life before the streets. That didn't keep him from being a sarcastic little twirp who got more delight out of cracking jokes or playing pranks on poor innocent people than playing any games. His name was Kedar. He never told anybody his last name.  
She'd been playing one day, out in the city streets, when a boy at least five years older than her had sought her out to be the prey of the day. She normally tried to stay away from these kids- they tried to start fights. She didn't want to fight. Risking her life in the streets and watching tournaments where OTHER people fought was much more fun. Kedar normally took care of the guys for her- too bad today he was on the other side of town visiting some old friends. Why hadn't she gone with him?  
"So, what's the twig doing? You shouldn't be in the streets alone, Tringa. You're liable to get hurt." He shoved her, trying to provoke some emotion. She hadn't smiled, laughed, yelled, or even cried since anyone had first seen her. And people always did watch..  
Well, she finally lost her temper. Or, rather, she'd found it. While the boy had been laughing at some snide comment from his peanut gallery, she'd punched him. Without even meaning to hurt him, the single punch from her skinny frame had thrown him straight back through his friends, into a man.  
The man didn't seem to notice- or wouldn't have, if a flailing arm hadn't knocked into the towering cone of ice-cream he'd been carrying, sending the whole thing to the hot summer ground.  
"Hey!" The tall, black haired man whined. He sounded almost kiddish, and the pout on his face supported the thought. "What was that for?" Tringa quickly lowered her hand. She didn't want to be involved in this.  
Something about her seemed to catch the man's eye. It might have been the way her little black eyes were darting around, searching out an escape route. Or it might have been the way her purple-black hair stuck up in almost the same way as his did, excepting her four black bang fringes. Either way, he noticed her. Which was the last thing she wanted.  
"Hey there!" He greeted her, ignoring the boys and seemingly forgetting about the melting ice-cream mess. The bullies took the chance to run away. Far, far away very quickly.  
Tringa's eyes flew open wide, and her mouth worked, trying to sputter something to deny that she had been involved. He didn't seem to notice.  
"What're you doing out here all alone?"  
"I... Uhm... I... Uh..." She gulped, but it came out of more of a squeak than anything. 'How do I always get myself into these things?' she wondered, backing a few steps up from the strange man.  
He bent over and balanced his weight on his knees, smiling widely at her. "You don't need to be scared! I won't do anything to ya'! I'm Goku. What's your name?"  
He was cheerful. Bubbly, almost. And he *definitely* didn't act like any grown-up she'd ever met. But ther was something about him- she couldn't help but trust him already. And she ddn't trust anybody.  
"M'name's Tringa. And I *wasn't* scared of ya." She said indignantly. Just because she trusted him didn't mean she had to be nice to him. Not that she meant to be mean, but she'd never been a good people person.  
"Well, Tringa, what were you doing out here alone?" Goku asked, standing back up straight. His wide grin never left his face.  
"Just being here. Why?" She countered quickly. Goku laughed.  
"You just seemed a little... small to be out by yourslef." He seemed about to say something else, but something tackled him from behind, doubling him over. The something was a young boy a few years younger than herself, who looked like a carbon copy of Goku.  
"So there you are, Goku!" A woman's voice yelled. "I should know better than to let my eye off you for one minute." The voice belonged to a black haired woman walking towards them.  
"Aww, Chi-chi! I just wanted to get some Ice-cream." Goku explained, grabbing the boy off his back and holding him upside-down as he stood up. He turned his back on Tringa to carry on a conversation with his wife. The girlwanted to run off, but couldn't bring herself to do t. Something about Goku, and the little boy... There was something about them that wouldn't let her leave.  
Tringa walked up to stand next to Goku. The boy he was holding notixced her and grinned. His face was turning red from the blood rushing up- or, rather, down.. Tringa just stared at him, watching as the red color deepened.  
"Oh! Chi-chi! I was talking to a girl, Tringa-" He turned around to where she had been standing, and looked confused. Goku put the boy down and scratched his head. "I guess she..." He turned back around, shrugging, and finally noticed the girl's new position. "Oh! Tringa." 


	2. Opening Up

A/N: Again, I don't own DBZ, or any of it's characters. I only own Tringa- and I restate what I said last chappie: anyone who wants to steal her is desperate. Or stupid... Well, I haven't gotten any reviews yet, but I'm hoping against all odds I will if I'm persistent enough. I do hope I don't screw with the personalities too much- It's been a while since I've seen the series (any of them) and I can't get hold of any manga... I'm a deprived child... If you're gonna flame me, go ahead now. I'll deal with it. But I would much prefer comments, hints, encouragement... something positive, Y'know?  
  
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The little boy giggled at his father's slip up, and turned to Tringa. "I'm Goten!" He stated giddily. ChiChi clasped her hands together and smiled. She seemed to be waiting for the girl to speak. Tringa almost never spoke- except to Kedar. Nobody had ever been willing to listen to her broken speech, until Kedar. He'd helped her piece together her speech, and she'd actually talked for hours to him. But never to anyone else. She still didn't trust them.  
Since Tringa didn't seem ready to say anything, Goku changed the subject and started talking again. "I'm actually sorry I didn't participate in that tournament. Vegeta would have won, if we hadn't made that deal with Hercule... But I would have liked to fight him. It's been a while!" Tringa's eyes lit at the mention of tournaments. There had been one just the other day- she hadn't been able to watch it.  
"You participate in the tournaments?" She asked eagerly. The three of them seemed surprised (and pleased ) to hear her say something. Especially something they could relate to.  
"Yeah! We both do, me and Goten. And a lot of our friends, of course... But I didn't join this one. Figured I'd let someone else have some fun." Goku grinned sheepishly. Tringa brought her hands together hopefully.  
"You've *won* a tournament? Wow... I've always wished I could get into one... Kedar would never let me, though, even if we could afford it." She looked at the ground and bit her lip. Kedar had always hoped she'd find a home... Maybe this would be her chance.  
"Do you think, maybe you could help me get into next years? If you've won, you must be strong! You could help train me, and I could do stuff for you to help out if you'll pay the entrance fees!" The adults looked at her small frame, and looked doubtfully at eachother. Goten seemed pleased at the idea.  
"Yeah, Daddy! We could train her, and I'd have someone my own size to train with! Trunks is always training with his dad now... he never wants to with me! Please?" He gave his father those big, wide, kid eyes that most grown-ups could never resist. And Goku being so young at heart himself, he couldn't turn the boy down. "Can we keep her?"  
"I don't see why we couldn't... But it'd be hard on you, Tringa. We're not the easiest people to get used to." Goku's wide grin said otherwise. At least, to Tringa's mind it did. It might be easier to live with them than by herself. But how would she let Kedar know where she'd gone?  
"Goku! How can you agree to that? You don't even know anything about her! How would she get out to our place? What if her parents-" ChiChi flew into a rant. The little girl spoke up a few minutes in.  
"I don't have parents." Her voice was soft, but it stopped ChiChi and Goku's fresh argument in it's tracks. The adults looked at her with a new light and perspective. Goten simply looked confused.  
"How can you not have any parents? Everybody does... Don't they?" His wide, naive eyes went from Tringa to his mother to his father. Tringa shrugged at his question. She'd wondered the same thing time to time- but still came up with no answer as to where she was from or who her parents might be. If she had any.  
"That's awful! Who's been taking care of you? You haven't been living on the streets! Why, I don't think there's a safe place on the streets for a young thing like you..." This revealation sent the woman on a whole new rave, and Goku watched her with amazement for a moment, before zoning his wife out and crouching down to Tringa's eye level.  
"Well if that's the case, I'm sure you could come live with us, or our friends. We'll help train you if you want, but the important thing is that you're safe. That okay with you?"  
Such a kind heart. People like Goku were hard to find those days- or any days, for that matter. Tringa nodded. But that still left the point of how to tell Kedar... Maybe they could help with that, too.  
"I do have a friend who needs to know where I've gone. He's been looking out for me since I can remember." Which had only been for a few months, but they didn't need to know that.  
Goku looked over his shoulder at his wife (who was still ranting away) and smiled down at Tringa. "Where is he? We can go find him. Maybe he can come, too."  
Goten clapped his hands together. They were going to keep her! And maybe someone else, too! This would be so much fun... He couldn't wait to tell Trunks all about his new sister.  
"He's with friends, across the city. I think I know where- but I'm not certain. Could we go?" Tringa asked. She wasn't sure what she would do if they couldn't find him, but didn't want to think about that. She couldn't leave without saying good-bye to her only friend.  
Goku looked back at ChiChi, and shrugged. "It'd be better than waiting for her to calm down." Goten giggled, and tugged at his father's pant leg.  
"Can I come, too?" He asked eagerly. Goku shook his head.  
"No, I need you to keep an eye on your mother. Make sure she doesn't hurt anybody..."  
Tringa wasn't sure if that was meant to be a serious comment or not, but judging by the look in the woman's eyes, she wasn't going to stop any time soon. Tringa looked up at her new 'friend'.  
"How are we going to get there?" She asked. There were taxi's, shuttles, train systems... She wasn't familiar with any of them, and she wanted to be forewarned. Goku's expression didn't change and he picked her up.  
"The easiest way- flying." 


End file.
